At the Airport
by Cheesy Corn Chowder
Summary: The agents of S.T.E.A.M. have some remaining aliens to deal with after the destruction of the Great Shugguth. The extraterrestrials have taken over an airport and the agents need to flush 'em out. Rated K for violence
1. Chapter 1

It was a week or so after the Great Shugguth had been defeated by President Lincoln's heroic sacrifice. The world was in grief over his death yet in relief at the defeat of a genocidal monster. The agents of S.T.E.A.M. were still trying to remain optimistic while looking for the president, as well as the last of the aliens.

Captain Henry Fleming walked over to the crew of the Liberty, all of whom were busy checking the Antarctic landscape. "Any luck?" Henry asked Katherine.

"No luck, Captain Fleming," she replied, "No one's been able to find his body yet."

"Well, we've got to keep searching. President Lincoln was a smart man; he must've found a way to escape before A.B.E. exploded."

Katherine replied, "I want to believe President Lincoln is alive just as much as you do, Henry. But we haven't been able to find anything indicating he survived." She began tearing up. "If the cold weather hasn't killed him by now, he's probably starving to death," she cried.

"Don't say that!" Henry said, "We never say 'die' in this group! Well, except Califia…"

"I'm sorry, Captain," Katherine replied, "I'll contact the base and ask them to get the excavating equipment situated for subzero temperatures. Once ready, they can start going through the crater left over after the battle."

"Thanks, Katherine," Henry replied, "I knew I could count on you."

"My pleasure, Captain Fleming," she smiled, wiping the tears from her cheeks. The captain smiled, too, walking back to join the others.

John Henry was sitting on one of the couches in the rec room. He had an empty seat next to him with his mechanical arm on the top of the couch. Tom Sawyer snuck behind the couch to check out the arm. When he was certain John wasn't paying attention, he slowly and quietly stood up and began checking out all the mechanics that made the artificial limb work. He held one of the fingers on the hand.

"Hey!" John said, "Knock that off!" He lightly swatted at Tom.

"Aw, shucks, Mr. Henry," the young Missourian replied, "I thought y'all was too distracted to notice me."

"Well, you're a quiet little kid when your mouth isn't ramblin'."

"So can you actually feel stuff with them metal fingers?"

"Yeah." John touched his robotic fingers. "I can still feel things with these digits. It's just…not the same as when they were flesh and bone." He sighed.

"Don't feel so blue, Mr. Henry. I'd give my left arm just to have one of them machines as a part o' me!"

"You wouldn't say that if you had to live with this thing for as long as I have…" John looked at his mechanical limb in disgust.

Dorothy came up to Tom. "Hey, Tom," the farm girl announced, "the on-board mess hall is serving tacos today."

"Oh, I do love me a good taco!" Tom and Dorothy walked away, leaving John in his gloom. He continued to stare at his arm.

"Why am I cursed like this?" John thought, "What horrid act did I do to deserve to be stuck with this…machine for a limb? What did I do that literally cost me an arm and a leg?" He held his head down.

At that moment, Henry walked in the room. "Hi, John," the captain said.

John looked up and smiled. "Henry!" he said, "Take a seat." He patted the cushion next to him. Henry sat down. "You look down. What's the matter?"

"No word on if President Lincoln survived," Henry explained, "I want to believe he's alive but all the evidence seems to point in the other direction…You also looked pretty sad when I came in. What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's…it's nothing," John said, trying to avoid talking about his woes.

"Well, whatever it is, I hope I can make it feel better." Henry sat close to John. John put his mechanical arm on Henry's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Randolph was playing a rousing game of chess against Scarecrow. Some of the other members had gathered around to watch.

"The king is incapable of a move like that!" the professor yelled at his brainless opponent.

"Mine has superpowers," Scarecrow tried to justify. Randolph began banging his head against the table in annoyance.

Tin Man stopped him. "Randy," he said, "you will kill valuble brain cells doing such a thing!"

"Maybe then I'll be at the same playing level as Scarecrow," Randolph retorted, "Have you seen how ludicrous he is when he plays this game? He even started the game by asking which of us rolls the dice first!"

"Patience," Tin Man replied, "He is new to this game. You cannot expect him to comprehend such a game of wits on his first try."

"I tried to explain the rules to him, but he keeps making up his own! He's like a six-year old child playing sports!" Randolph moved his bishop.

Scarecrow looked at his pieces. He picked up the rook and began jumping it over other nearby pieces like in a game of checkers. Randolph was rendered speechless by such a move. When he was done, he commented, "So does this mean I can put up a hotel on that square?" Randolph resumed beating his own head into the table.

"I call playing the winner," Lion declared. He whispered to Scarecrow, "You know, just between you and me, I think you're gonna win. You're so much better at this than he is."

"I heard that!" Randolph commented, taking one of Scarecrow's pawns with one of his pawns.

Califia took one of the captured pieces. "I like this 'queen' character. She is a fierce and powerful ruler, much like me."

Scarecrow picked up his knight and swung it across the board, knocking down all of Randolph's remaining pawns. "There! My horsie captured all of your munchkins! I've got you in checkbook!"

"Checkmate, my friend," Tin Man corrected. Randolph, in frustration, collapsed onto the floor.

Lion picked him up. "My turn!" he commented, giving Randolph to Tin Man. He sat down, ready to face his friend. Tin Man took Randolph to a couch to cool down.

Back in the control room, Katherine sat at her station, still looking for any sign that Lincoln could still be alive. "God," she thought, "I hope wherever he is, he's alright. And wherever he is, I hope we can get to him quickly." She then noticed a red light blinking. She recognized that as a distress signal. She activated the speaker. "Code Name S.T. ., Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace," she answered, "This is Katherine speaking. How may I help you?"

"Oh, thank God!" the person on the other end replied, "We need help!"

Once the call for help was finished, Katherine went to Lincoln's briefing room. She picked up the microphone. "All agents, report to the briefing room!" John and Henry got off their couch. Randolph and Tin Man got up with Tin Man still trying to keep Randolph calm.

"Aww," Scarecrow commented, "But I was just about to get the prince and princess married and unite the kingdoms."

"We'll leave our game this way," Lion said, "When we get back, we'll continue. Deal?"

"Deal!" The two friends stood up.

The agents all entered. "Now then," Katherine started. She saw Tom and Dorothy holding tacos. "May you two please finish eating those? You're eating them awfully loud." Tom looked at his, opened his mouth as wide as possible, and shoved the rest in his mouth. Dorothy was disgusted by that.

"You pig!" she commented.

"Hey, I was jus' doin' what the nice lady asked me to do."

"Where are your manners?" Dorothy asked. She took a few bites and finished her taco.

"Back on topic," Katherine explained, "We received a distress call coming from an airport. It seems some of the remaining aliens attacked and have taken it over. We predict they may be trying to rebuild their army inside the building, so we'll need you to go in and get rid of them."

"But what about the search for President Lincoln?" Henry asked.

"As much as I would love to keep searching for him, Captain Fleming, we need to save the civilians first. They need our help more right now."

"Alright," Henry said, "It's the right thing to do. But as soon as they're gone, we're coming back to Antarctica!" He turned to face his team. "Let's go, team!" He threw his fist in the air. The others all did the same. They all went to the prep room.

Henry put on his Patriotic Boiler, as did Randolph and Tin Man. Tom, Dorothy, and Scarecrow put on their butterfly-shaped Scout Boilers. And John, Califia, Lion, and Queequeg put on their Lincoln Superpack Boilers.

"I wish we had a more gender-neutral Scoutin' Boiler," Tom complained. He went and picked up his Punch Gun. The others grabbed their prized weapons as well. They all sat down on the benches.

"Anyone ever been to an airport?" Henry asked his team.

"I've been to a few," Randolph said, "Mainly for studying abroad."

"Anyone else?" Henry asked. No one had. "I don't blame you; I've only been to two myself. I just hope this experience doesn't turn you off to them for good."

They felt the Liberty's engines going faster. The interior was shaking and rattling. "Oh, I don't feel so good," Randolph moaned.

"Take some deep breathes, darling," the Fox commented, "You'll feel _mucho mejor_." Randolph began breathing slow and steadily.

"Okay," he said, "I feel better…"

"I have some papaya enzyme if you need them," Tiger Lily said.

"I hope I won't," Randolph said.

After some time, the ship slowed down. The door was opened by Katherine. "Before you head out," she said, "I just want to wish you all the best of luck." They all thanked her. "Also, I'm sending Stovepipe along with you guys." Randolph's eyes got wide. "Something the matter, Professor Carter?"

"I'm…um…I'm not fond of having him along.," he explained, "His voice is disturbing and the way he hovers along the ground is unnerving…"

"He's one of the best agents out there," Katherine replied, "He's quite durable and can produce a large amount of steam."

"If it makes you feel better," Henry told Randolph, "we can take Stovepipe in our group. That way, he won't bother you."

"Thank you, Captain Fleming."

" _Disculpe, señorita Katherine_ ," the Fox asked, "but will Marth and Ike be joining us?"

"I'm afraid not, Ms. Fox. They, as well as Robin and Lucina, had a previous arrangement to attend. They mentioned something about a tournament and 'smashing' something…"

"Aww," the Fox said, "that's too bad. Well, there's always next time…"

Katherine got a message on her wireless headset. "We're almost there. I'm going to turn on Stovepipe and leave you guys ready to go." Katherine turned to the door where Stovepipe was kept. She pulled the lever to open it. Once the door was open, Stovepipe's eyes lit up.

"Ready to assist," the mechanical soldier announced in his deep, monotone voice. He walked out of his refueling station. Randolph shook nervously.

"Good luck, agents!" Katherine said, giving them a thumbs-up. She left the room and closed the door behind her.

Randolph looked at Stovepipe. "He's the thirteenth agent," he told Tin Man, "Thirteen is unlucky."


	2. Chapter 2

Landing on the ground, the agents all looked at the large building before them. It was quite impressive to all of them, from Henry and Randolph who had been to one before, to everyone else who could have never imagined such a magnificent building. They stood in awe at such a place.

Their stares were interrupted by the sound of thunder and the start of rain. "Let's get inside," Henry commanded, "before we get all rusty." They all entered. The building was deserted. No one was inside.

"This is kinda creepy," Randolph commented as they all filed in. The place was quiet, save for a few random drips and drops of water. The desks for baggage check were all deserted. The usual commotion of an airport, from its announcements of incoming flights to the noisy passengers, was not present. The screens showing the flight schedules were all disabled.

"God, I hope everyone got out alright," Henry commented. A bolt of lightning flashed outside, followed by the lights turning off. A high-pitched shriek was heard. "Oh, no! The storm cut the power!"

The lights came back on. "Sorry," Tin Man said, "I accidentally hit the light switch when I saw the lightning." Randolph was holding Tin Man's other arm, his eyes wide and his teeth chattering. Tin Man faced him. "I would appreciate it if you didn't scream into my ears next time."

"Sorry…" Randolph said. He let go of Tin Man's arm and attempted to blink again.

Katherine contacted them over the wireless. "We're picking up signs of life deeper in the airport. Get to the subway system and take it to the concourse."

"Alright," Henry instructed, "You heard the lady. We'll split up and look for the subway." He turned to face John. "John, you're with me."

"Yes!" John exclaimed.

"Queequeg, Stovepipe, you're also with me. We'll take the middle."

"Leave everything to me," Stovepipe replied.

"Tank you, Cap'n Fleming," Queequeg replied, "It is an honor to be serving wit you!"

Henry continued to divide the group into smaller ones. "Randolph and Tin Man, you guys go with Scarecrow and Tiger Lily. You guys go North."

"I don't want to work with that ignorant pumpkin-head!" Randolph said.

"Hey," Scarecrow said, "That's not a nice thing to say to Tin Man!"

"He was talking about you," Tiger Lily corrected.

"But I'm a smart guy. Watch." Scarecrow remembered the smartest thing he could. "The sum of the squares of the legs of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square of the remaining side."

"That only works for right triangles!" Randolph yelled, "How could you be so **stupid?!** "

"Whoa," Tiger Lily said, "Calm down, professor. Take it easy."

"His stupidity is just so frustrating…"

"Get over it," Henry instructed. He turned to the remaining people. "The rest of you, head South. If any of you see the subway, contact us."

"I shall keep my eyes peeled!" The Fox promised.

"Excellent. Now let's go, team."

Randolph and Tin Man led their group. "Oh, I don't like this at all," the professor commented, "Not one bit. Not at all. No part of me wants to participate in this."

"I think it's kinda fun," Scarecrow debated, "It's all creepy and spooky and it reminds me of the graveyard! We don't know what will happen until it does!"

"That's exactly my problem with it," Randolph said, "It's creepy and spooky and all those other things you said."

"Come on, Randolph! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"My sense of adventure is fine; it's just that my sense of fear is also quite strong, if there even is such a sense of fear. And don't call me 'Randolph.' I'm a professor."

"But Tin Man calls you 'Randy.'"

"That's because he and I are friends. We lo-" He stopped himself, not wanting to share. "We like each other."

"But don't you like me?"

"No! That's the whole point! You're clueless and oblivious and it pesters me!"

Being compared to a pest got to Scarecrow. His usual smile turned upside-down. "But…I'm a nice guy. I want to help people."

"There is a difference between motivation and execution. You may have good intentions but your bottomless stupidity is going to get people angry with you!"

Scarecrow stared at Randolph. "I…I don't know what to say…" He looked as if he was about to cry.

"Then don't speak any further!" Randolph yelled.

Scarecrow looked down at the floor and ran away. Tin Man yelled out, "Scarecrow, return!" He turned to Randolph. "How could you do that?" he asked.

"It had to be done," Randolph replied, "Someone finally had to tell him the truth."

"That was not the truth; that was simply being cruel. He may not be the smartest, I will admit, but his love and courage and all-around goodness more than make up for it!"

"Guys," Tiger Lily commented, "Save it for later. Look!" She pointed at a shooting-type Prowler facing them. It aimed its gun arm at them. "Randolph! Distract it!" Randolph got out his Unspeakable Lure launcher. He fired a large piece of frozen meat to the side. The alien drew its attention to the side. Tin Man then fired his Steam Rifle at the alien's head. Its glowing weak point was exposed. Tiger Lily shot at it with her Steam Crossbow, killing it instantly. "You don't belong here!"

"I am going to go find Scarecrow," Tin Man said. He turned to face Randolph. "When I bring him back, I expect you to apologize."

"Fine, whatever," Randolph replied. Tin Man walked off.

Meanwhile, John, Henry, Stovepipe, and Queequeg continued to search the airport. "What a strange building," the prince from the Pacific commented, "It looks so big. Bigger den my homeland!"

"Yeah," Henry said, "They need to be. They're full of lots of people who need to go places and fast. Much faster than a car or boat can allow."

"So other people get to ride in flying ships like Pres'dent Lincoln uses? Dat's really awesome!"

"It is. I just hope we can get this place cleared of aliens soon so it can return to normal."

Stovepipe stopped. "Triggering 'enemy sighted' message," he announced. A Berserker was walking out of the lavatories. The team members all froze, not having enough steam to fire at it. This was problematic as it had already noticed them. It walked over to them.

"Stay still," Henry said, "I think their vision is based on movement." The Berserker walked over to Henry and swung its claw at him. Henry was flung to the wall and slunk to the floor. "Oww…I suppose maybe also hearing."

Stovepipe looked at the beast that had hit his captain. He asked the alien, "Did you wash your hands in there?" The alien strangely seemed to comprehend this. Stovepipe pointed at the door. "Go back in there and wash." The large alien obeyed the robot and walked back inside the restroom.

"I don't know how you did that," John commented, "but I am impressed!" John held his hand up to Stovepipe for a high five. This was not a move that Stovepipe was familiar with. "Never mind," John said. He turned to Henry. "Henry! Y'okay?"

"Yeah," Henry said, "I think the wall hurt more than his hand did…" He reached to the side for his gun. "Oh, no…Where's my Eagle Rifle?!"

Stovepipe pointed at a vent next to Henry. "Your Eagle Rifle fell down there," he explained.

Henry turned to look at it. "I can see it," he said. He reached his hand down. "I can't quite reach it…" He turned to the others. After quickly observing them, he said, "John, could you give me a hand?"

"Sure thing!" John walked over to the vent. He stuck in his mechanical arm. It only went about halfway down before it became too wide to fit anything further. "Darn!" he said, "this arm's too big to fit!" He pulled it out. He then tried his other arm. "That's the beauty of flesh; it can get in the spots metal can't!" He grabbed the rifle. "Got it!" He pulled it up and gave it to Henry. "Here you are, Captain." He gave the gun back to its rightful owner.

"Thanks, John," Henry replied. He looked to the side. "Hey, look out!" The Berserker had returned, its hands dripping with water. "Eat lead, alien!" He fired three bullets into the alien's mouth. It severely hurt the alien, causing it to roar in anger and emit a red aura.

"Oh, he angry now!" Queequeg replied. He got out his Nail Gun and fired some shots at the large foe. "Like Moby Dick, he major pain!" The nails weakened the alien to the point of confusion.

"My turn," John replied. He stood up. "I got a shotgun!" He fired at the weak alien, obliterating it to icy pieces. "Won't give us anymore trouble!"

"Thanks, John," Henry replied, "Both for defeating that brute and for getting my gun back."

"My pleasure," John said. He flexed his right arm. "All thanks to this guy." He turned to face his robotic arm. "No help from you." He then helped Henry up with his right hand.

Tin Man found Scarecrow sitting on a staircase. "Scarecrow, my friend," Tin Man said. He sat down next to him.

Scarecrow didn't look up. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I want to make you feel better."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"Like this." Tin Man tickled Scarecrow. "Tickle, tickle, tickle!"

Scarecrow laughed, "Oh stop, stop!" Tin Man complied. "Woo-wee, that sure makes me feel swell! Thanks a bunch!"

"You are welcome. Are you ready to go back?"

Scarecrow turned to the side. "Err…I dunno. I don't want to make Randolph angry again. He gets really mean when he's angry."

"He just does not know you as well as I do. He does not know what a kind-hearted soul you are. You two just need to have some non-competitive time to speak with each other. You two may have more in common than you think."

"But he's so smart and I'm so dumb."

"That is no reason you two cannot like each other. I am metal and he is flesh and we like each other."

"Well, I'll try to get to know him better. In the meantime, I should get back to opening these elevator doors. They're shut pretty tight and I was thinkin' there might be some survivors inside." Scarecrow pointed at a set of doors down a hallway.

"That is strange…I never saw any elevator doors in the section above us…Why would there be elevators on the lower level?" Tin Man and Scarecrow walked over to one. He pried one of the doors open. "Oh my!" he exclaimed. The inside was dark and lacking even a cable for an elevator. Looking down, he found an explanation. "Scarecrow, these aren't elevators; you found the airport's subway station!"

"I did?" Scarecrow looked at the tracks on the ground inside the door. "Well, I'll be!" He pressed the contact button on his wireless headset. "Randolph! Come in, Randolph!"

"What is it, Scarecrow?" the aggravated professor asked.

"I found the subway!"

"I'm in no mood for any pranks, Scarecrow. Stop wasting my time."

Tin Man chimed in on his wireless. "No, Randy, he is actually telling the truth! I have seen it, too! Come down the stairs at the end of the hallway!"

"Wait, really? You found it? Tiger Lily and I will be right down!"The two rushed down to meet up with them. "Well, I'll be. We found it. I'll contact Captain Fleming to let him know." He put his finger to his headset. "Captain Fleming, this is Professor Carter. The subway has been located. Over."

"Great!" Captain Fleming said, "What are you coordinates?" Randolph gave a description of how to reach them. "Thanks. We'll be over quickly."

Henry and his team, ran over to the station to meet up with Randolph, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Tiger Lily. Once they stopped, John panted, "Why do you make me run? You know I hate runnin'."

"Sorry, John," Henry replied, "but the safety of the civilians takes immediate precedence over your pet peeves." He turned to face Randolph. "So may I see the evidence?" Randolph showed the team the tracks. "Excellent! Good job, guys!"

Queequeg asked, "When de train come?"

"What?" Henry asked.

"De train. When is de unde'ground train gonna be here?"

"Oh, that's a good question…" Henry looked down the side of the tracks. "I think there's a subway over there, but I don't think we can move it…"

Suddenly, Stovepipe froze in place. "Hey," Tiger Lily asked him, "You okay, Stovepipe?" Stovepipe stuck out his arms. "Stovepipe?" Tiger Lily was becoming disturbed. Stovepipe began twisting and folding his body…

On the other side of the airport, the rest of the team was still looking. No aliens had crossed their paths. "I'm scared," Dorothy said.

"Don't worry," Tom replied, "If any mean ol' aliens trying t'harm ya, Tom'll teach 'em some new tricks!" He held up his Punch Gun.

"Thank you, Tom," Dorothy replied, "Glad you're here to protect me."

Califia scoffed at this. "In my kingdom, it is the women who protect the men. They stand tall and go to battle while the men cower on the side. That's the way it should be."

"Now, Senorita Califia," The Fox replied, "my father taught me that men and women can both be fighters for truth and justice. He is the one who taught be how to fight."

"If your father fights anything like you," Califia admitted, "I suppose he must be a good man. A strong man."

"He was. He was a hero whose legacy I wish to live up to. He always helped those in need."

"Hey, guys!" Lion said, "Check this out!" They walked over to him. "It's moving stairs!" He pointed down at a set of continuously moving metal stairs going down.

"Sweet mother Hubbard!" Tom yelled, "Moving stairs?! What'll they think of next?"

"I wanna try them!" Dorothy said. She started walking down it. "Wow! This is kinda scary…"

"Let me try," Califia replied. She got on, but found herself unable to walk. "Steam gauge at zero," she complained. She looked down at the stairs. "Wait, the stairs continue to move? Amazing! It negates the need to walk down the stairs!"

"Really?" Tom said asked. He stepped on. "Well, tarnation! What'll I tell Huck about going on stairs that you don't need t'walk on!"

"My turn!" Lion said. He launched himself onto the moving stairs.

"Whoa!" Tom yelled, "Careful, you big kitty cat!"

"Sorry," Lion said, "Just really excited." At the bottom of the stairs, they all gathered up. "Where's the Fox?"

The Fox stood at the top of the moving stairs. "Watch out, amigos!" She sat on top of the rail and slid down it. Once joined back up with the others, she commented, "That was fun. I wish to do that again someday."

"D'ya think these stairs lead to the subway?" Tom asked.

"I would say so," Califia said, looking at the doors on either side of the hallway. "But there's only one way to find out." She blew up a set of doors with her Rhino Bomber. They walked over to look. "Yes, this is where the subway station is."

"Let me contact _Capitán_ Fleming," The Fox said. But as she was about to, a group of aliens started walking down the tracks.

"Aww, shucks!" Tom exclaimed, "They found us!"

"I shall not hide!" Califia yelled. She took out her Steam Musket and started firing at the creatures. "Die! Die! DIE!"

Lion yelled, "It's no use! There's too many of them!"

"Well, how else can we defeat them?" Down the tunnel, they head a whistle blowing. "Ignore that question!" She jumped back. The aliens all stared at the light at the end of the tunnel…and were prominently knocked out, onto the platform. They all expired and left behind medals.

"What was that?" Dorothy asked. They walked over to see. Riding on a small train engine was Henry. "Captain Fleming?"

"Hoot hoot!" He laughed. "Hey, guys! It turns out Stovepipe can turn into a train like his big brother, A.B.E. He helped us to tow the subway over here from the station on the other side."

"May we be permitted to ride as well, darling?" The Fox asked.

"Sure thing, Fox," Henry replied. "Stovepipe, forward ten feet."The small train engine began moving and pulling the subway train.

Scarecrow was standing right in the doorway for the subway. "Lion! Dorothy! Good to see you two again!"

"Likewise, ol' buddy," Lion said. The five got onto the train.

"Isn't _Capitán_ Fleming joining us on board?" the Fox asked.

"Naw," John replied, "He's havin' too much fun riding on top of Stovepipe's train form.

With everyone on board, Henry told Stovepipe, "To the concourses, Stovepipe, and to the civilians. Full steam ahead!" Stovepipe started moving again.

Katherine said, "Good work, team. Get ready for part two of your mission."


	3. Chapter 3

The 11 agents stood in the subway, waiting for their stop. It seemed to take awhile since it was such a large train being pulled by such a small engine.

"I am confident in my abilities," Stovepipe repeated to himself, "I am confident in my abilities…"

"That's the spirit, Stovepipe!" Henry encouraged, "Keep it up."

Back on the subway train, the agents were standing around in mostly awkward silence. The Fox, always the life of the party, broke it occasionally during the trip. "I am trying to recall…who has the larger sword: Senor Marth or Senor Ike?" she asked once. This was followed by mostly awkward stares. "Just trying to introduce a topic of conversation, darlings."

The train stopped. Henry opened the door. "End of the line, friends. Let's go." They all loaded out and stood around.

Katherine contacted them over the wireless again. "We're picking up vital signs coming from the concourse. Look for any civilians who have been frozen over and defrost them."

"Roger," Henry replied. He faced the team. "Same squads as last time. We'll break when we get to the top." They all walked over to the set of moving stairs going up. Some were better at using them than others, such as Randolph.

At the top, they were greeted by some strange rectangular arches next to a few conveyors belts. They walked around them to get to the center of the concourse. "What are those things?" Scarecrow asked.

"Metal detectors," Randolph explained, "The large ones scan your body and there's ones connected to the conveyor belt for your carry-on bags. If you have anything that could be harmful to others that is constructed from metal, an alarm will sound and the security officers will be able to locate it on you and it will be confiscated."

"Boy," Tin Man commented, "It is a good thing I do not have to go through one. With my metal body, I would set off the alarm constantly." He turned to Stovepipe. "You, too, Stovepipe."

This strangely affected John. He looked at his arm. "Those two guys can't even be treated as equal to humans because of their mechanical bodies," John thought, "Am I lesser than other humans simply because I don't have one of my original arms and legs?" He looked up and out the incredibly large window in front of him. "After the Civil War, I was hoping the discrimination would end. Will I have to continue to endure this?"

Tom saw John looking out the window and looked out, too. He saw a few airships and blimps, as well as some bird-shaped machines. "Daggum!" the boy shouted, "Are those them aeroplane things I done heard about?"

Califia took a look at one. "Pathetic," she scoffed, "Using steam-powered machines for flight is incredibly desperate. Where I come from, we ride griffins."

"Yeah," Tiger Lily said, "Those things look kinda lame compared to the gift of personal flight where I come from. I should tell Peter about these when I go home."

"I tink dey seem like good idea," Queequeg suggested, "Dey are big as whale and can carry many people. Besides, we been flying around in giant aircraft, guys. Why do you stay on Liberty if you prefer you methods of flying round?"

"Well," Califia replied, "It's just easier to stick with you guys if I fly in King Lincoln's ship. My griffin could fly much faster than his craft, so we'd probably get easily separated. Besides, it has a place to keep my weapons."

"Okay," Henry commanded, "The aircrafts are all fine and dandy, but we're here to find survivors, not discuss the awesomeness of fire birds and aeroplanes."

"Sorry," Tiger Lily said. She turned to Randolph, Tin Man, and Scarecrow. "Okay, boys. Let's go over and look for survivors." They cocked their weapons and walked off.

Califia, The Fox, Lion, Tom, and Dorothy started walking. "I get the feeling that some civilians will have been frozen over in the food court," the Fox said. They walked over.

"Well, boys," Henry said, "Let's check the other side of the airport."

"Sounds good," Queequeg said, lifting up his Penguin Lobber.

The food court was full of empty, ice-covered tables and benches. "It is like someone ordered a large fountain drink and spilled it all over the place," Fox said.

"Yeah," Tom said, "but without the yummy pop to go with it." He sniffed around a second. "Hey…what's that smell?" He looked at the nearby small bakery. There was a cake stand with something on it. "Hot dang! A slice of apple pie!" He ran over to grab it.

"Tom, wait!" Dorothy warned. But it was too late. As Tom was about to grab it, an alien hand squashed it.

"What? NO!" Tom yelled. He then looked at the alien the hand was connected to. It was a shooting-type Prowler. It aimed at Tom, who was rendered immobile with fear. One blast from its organic gun blasted Tom against a table. The impact knocked him too woozy to fight.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Dorothy said. She rushed over to Tom. "Tom, are you okay?"

"Oooh…" he moaned.

"Take this, you miserable creature!" Califia yelled at the alien. She fired at it with her Steam Musket. It broke off part of its head, revealing its glowing weak spot.

Lion pointed his Steam Crossbow at the weak point and fired. The arrow pierced it, killing the alien. "Where is the challenge?" Lion triumphantly laughed.

"I shall take care of young Thomas," The Fox said. She pulled out her Medi-Rifle and pointed it at him.

"I feel swell," Tom sighed, "Thanks!" He cocked his Punch Gun, ready for the next alien. "If I see anymore pie, I'll be sure to make sure there's none of them creatures near it first."

"Hey," Dorothy exclaimed, "I found a survivor!" Sure enough, there was a woman frozen over near her. The young girl used a bit of steam from her tank to thaw her out. The woman thanked her for the help and ran to the nearest exit.

Meanwhile, Tiger Lily, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Randolph walked through the stores. There were souvenir shops for people visiting from other regions, small stands for sunglasses, and most prominently, stores selling reading material and snacks. They checked each one for any survivors.

"Do you like any of these books, Professor Carter?" Tiger Lily asked, regarding the novels for sale.

"Oh, dear, sweet Cthulhu, no!" he responded, "Those books are always so pretentious, pretending they know more than they actually do. I went through one of them once and highlighted everything factually inaccurate and used up four highlighters doing so."

"I love 'em," Scarecrow replied, "They may not be entirely true, but fiction isn't supposed to be educational all the time. Sometimes a writer just has to make up stuff for entertainment."

"When a writer says that 99% of his prose is true yet that is the exact amount that is false, I simply cannot find any entertainment value in that. It just frustrates me."

"Well, anyways," the pumpkin-headed man stated, "I'm gonna get some candy for my Trick-O-Matic 1000. It's running low on it." He went to the check-out stand and scooped up a few handfuls of hard candies. "And I'll leave this for them…" He pulled out a $20 and placed it by the cash register.

"That's way too much money you're giving them, Scarecrow!" Randolph said, "Can't you even figure out simple multiplication?"

"Actually, I can," Scarecrow calmly retorted, "I have 20 pieces of candy and each of them are 50 cents. That's $10."

"So why are you paying twice that amount?"

"Well, this place is in bad condition after these aliens attacking, so they're gonna need all the money they can get to get it fixed up."

Randolph was shocked at this. "That…actually does seem like sound logic," he admitted. He thought to himself, "Could Scarecrow have more intelligence than I give him credit for?"

"Friends!" Tin Man said, "In here!" He was standing in front of a freezer full of carbonated beverages.

"What is it?" Randolph asked. Tin Man pointed at the freezer. There was a man inside, completely frozen over, pressing his hands against the door in an attempt to escape and his mouth and eyes wide open in fear. Randolph screamed at a key usually reserved for dog-calling and fainted.

"Oh, great," Tiger Lily commented, "Now we have two people we have to revive." Tin Man opened up the freezer door, which caused the man to fall out in a large block of ice. Tiger Lily thawed him out with the steam.

Once unfrozen, the man said, "If my boss asks, tell him I'm taking the rest of the day off." He ran off to the exit.

"That takes care of him," Tiger Lily said, "Now for Carter." She scooped up some of the water from the ice with her palms cupped like shovels. She took the ice-cold water and poured it on Randolph's face.

"Gah!" he yelled, sitting up. He wiped off his face and glasses. He then turned to Tiger Lily. "It's _Professor_ Carter, thank you very much." He picked up his weapons and stood up. He looked at one of the tabloids for sale. "I also can't stand these claiming to be factually accurate." He picked one copy up. "I mean, look at this one's headline: 'British scientists discovers formula for evil-suppressing medication.' What poppycock!"

While walking by the gates, John and Queequeg couldn't help but look at the aeroplanes. "Dey look so powerful," Queequeg commented, "Queequeg would love to fly in one someday."

"That reminds me," John said, "When did you go to an airport before, Henry?"

"When I got accepted to work at the American Embassy in London," Henry explained, "I took an aeroplane to get there. The embassy paid for it."

"You're lucky," John replied, "I was stuck taking a boat to London. It was cramped and crowded and took almost a week to get there." John thought about this. "What if they gave me such an awful mode of transportation because of my arm and leg? Do they see me as less than human?"

John's thinking was interrupted by an explosion that knocked each of them onto their backs. "What was that?" Henry asked. There was a Prowler with a grenade-launching limb. "Oh, no…I hate these guys."

"At least they don't fire at us when we're moving," John replied.

"Let see how dey like it when we fire explosives at dem!" Queequeg announced. He fired one of his custom mechanical penguins at the Prowler. The mechanical ice bird waddled over to the Prowler, which stared at it in confusion until it exploded. The force knocked the alien closer to the agents, at the feet of Stovepipe.

Stovepipe put on his Drill Fist and looked down at the foe beneath him. He punched a hole right through the alien and obliterated it. "Initiating victory dance," the robot announced. He began moving his joints in rhythmic fashion.

"Cute, Stovepipe," Henry said, "But we should continue to look for survivors. Do you see any vital signs?"

Stovepipe stopped dancing and began scanning the area. He pointed at a terminal gate desk. "There," he said. They all ran over to see the person. It was an employee who had been frozen over. Stovepipe released some steam to thaw her out. The woman opened her eyes and saw Stovepipe.

"Oh no!" she screamed, "I'm dead! And you're here to carry me to eternal damnation! Oh, I shouldn't have skipped church in my youth."

"Easy, ma'am," Henry said, helping her up, "I assure you that you aren't dead. You were just frozen by the aliens and Stovepipe here unfroze you."

"Stovepipe? That's what that thing is called?"

"Yeah. He's the world's first automaton solider. He runs on nothing but steam."

The woman looked at him one more time. "Still kinda creepy." She ran away.

John looked at Stovepipe. "I guess Randolph ain't alone," he commented. He thought about how creeped out people must be at his mechanical arm, how uncanny it might look to the casual onlooker.

Henry activated his wireless headset. "Katherine, we've found all the survivors," he declared. Suddenly, Stovepipe grabbed his arm. "Hey! What is it?" Stovepipe pointed at a lone suitcase on a nearby seat. "Yes, Stovepipe, it's a suitcase. Now I'm in the middle of talking to Katherine. Do you mind?"

"I tink Stovepipe is trying to tell us someting," Queequeg stated. He went over to the suitcase. There was a small gap in it with a plastic straw sticking out. "I tink dere might be someone inside." He tried to lift the lid, but it was locked shut. "Mistah Henry," Queequeg yelled. Both John and Henry looked at him. "Sorry, guys. I meant John. Could you help me open dis?"

"Sure, Queequeg," John said. He grabbed the lid of the suitcase and lifted as hard as he could. The lid started to open more, making a small space between the lid and the rest of the suitcase.

"We almost there…" Queequeg put his fingers in the crack and lifted more.

"I'll try from the other side," John said. He went around the chair and began trying to open the suitcase towards him. He pushed on the lower section with his real arm and pulled on the top with his mechanical arm. With a few strong pulls, he wound up tearing the suitcase's lid right off its hinges with his metal arm. He gaped at it. "I didn't even know I could do that."

Inside the suitcase was a businessman with the straw in his mouth. "Thank you, gentlemen," he said, "I was having no small difficulty breathing in there." He looked at the lid in John's hand. "If it hadn't been for that arm of your's, I might have asphyxiated in there."

"So you hid in your suitcase when the aliens invaded?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, I was afraid of what they might do, so I hid inside and used the straw from my cola to avoid suffocating in there."

"Well, you're safe now. We cleared all the aliens out of the terminal, and S.T.E.A.M. will buy you a new suitcase."

"Thank you, young man," the man replied. He left the building.

"Any other survivors, Stovepipe?" Henry asked. The robot looked around one last time and shook his head. Henry activated his wireless again. "Sorry, Katherine. Now we've found all the survivors."

"Sounds good," she replied, "We'll meet you outside in a few-" Her transmission was interrupted by an explosion and a crashing sound.

"Katherine!" Henry yelled, "Are you okay?"

Katherine sounded injured. "I'm okay, just a little sore after falling like that."

"What happened?"

"One minute, Captain Fleming." Katherine looked out the window. "Oh, no…Looks like you guys have one more objective."

"What is it?"

"There's a Gunner alien on the runway and it's firing at the ship."

"I guess it makes sense. The aliens probably want to keep any approaching aircraft away from their new hideout. Don't worry, we'll clear it ASAP. Over." Henry then contacted everyone on the wireless. "Attention, team members: there's a Gunner outside and it's attacking the Liberty. We need to destroy it. Meet me by Gate 23 and we'll head out."


	4. Chapter 4

Once everyone gathered up, they went outside. The storm had calmed down to a sprinkle. "That's good," Henry commented, "We shouldn't get rusty with the rain calming down."

Over the wireless, Katherine told everyone, "The Gunner unit is somewhere among the runways. Keep an eye out for it, as well as any other foes still remaining."

"Okay, guys," Henry said, "Same groups as before."

"Actually, _Capitán_ Fleming," The Fox requested, "May I be allowed to switch groups with Tiger Lily?"

"You want to be with Carter, Tin Man, and Scarecrow?" Henry confirmed.

" _Si_. With _Profesor_ Carter's Unspeakable Lure and my Fox Rifle, we could draw out any other hapless foes and eliminate them instantly."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Scarecrow agreed.

"And I'd be happy to have Tiger Lily in our squad," Lion commented.

"Well, I suppose so," Henry said.

" _Muchas gracias_ ," The Fox said. She and Tiger Lily joined the other's group.

"Okay," Henry instructed, "My group will go Northwest. Califia, you guys go Southwest. Carter, why don't you guys head out West?"

" **Professor** Carter," Randolph corrected.

"Right, right. Let's get 'em, team!" Henry's group and Califia's group went off in their assigned directions.

"Well, I suppose we should get going, too," Randolph said to his team. He noticed The Fox looking through her rifle scope. "What are you doing?"

"The Gunner," she said, "I think I can see it from here!" She removed her eye from the scope. "Take a look."

Randolph looked through the scope. "I can see it, too!"

"I wanna see! I wanna see!" Scarecrow exclaimed. The Fox let him look, too. "I can't see anything."

"That's because you have to look through the other side of the scope," Randolph pointed out in an annoyed fashion.

"Oh right." Scarecrow turned the gun around and looked again. "Oh, now I see it!"

"May I be permitted to see as well?" Tin Man asked. The Fox handed him the Rifle and he took a look. "It is so far away," he stated, "Even with my Steam Projector, it could take us almost an hour to get out there and that's if we do not run into any other monsters."

"Well then what do we do?" Randolph questioned, "Another hour could do unspeakable damage to the Liberty!"

Scarecrow looked at the airport's building. There was a garage door ajar with a baggage cart inside. "Guys," he confidently stated, "I may not have a brain…but I have an idea."

Tom, Tiger Lily, Lion, Calfia, and Dorothy were walking by an aeroplane that hadn't taken off by the time the attacks started. "Maybe there are some civilians trapped in there," Dorothy hypothesized.

"Wouldn't they have gotten out by now?" Tom asked.

"Not likely," Tiger Lily explained, "they probably feel that hiding in the plane is their safest option. They're probably afraid aliens might come along and freeze them if they get out."

"We have to help them out," Lion said, "It's a good thing there are no aliens around."

"I can get them out," Califia stated. She pointed her Rhino Bomber at the door.

Tiger Lily pushed the weapon down. "No!" she said, "They're already scared. If you use explosives to get the door open, it will only scare them more."

"Well, how can we get 'em out?" Tom inquired.

Tiger Lily contacted Henry over the wireless. "Captain Fleming, we have a plane with possible civilians inside. Other than the front door, do you know if there's any other way to get them out?"

Henry replied, "If I remember correctly, there should be two emergency exits on the wings. They can get out that way."

"Thank you, Captain Fleming. Tiger Lily out." She informed her squad of the emergency exits. Looking at the plane, neither exit had been opened. "If we can get up there, we can probably help them get out."

Lion said, "I can get you guys up there." He stood underneath the wing with his hands folded into a step. "I'll throw you up there."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Dorothy ensured.

"Of course. I won't hurt you guys."

"Well, okay." Dorothy was the first to step up. When her foot was on Lion's hands and her other foot was off the ground, Lion tossed her onto the wing of the plane. "It's alright, guys," she informed the others, "just be prepared for him to quickly toss you."

"I want a turn!" Tom said. He stepped up and Lion tossed him. Tom landed right on top of Dorothy. "Whoops. Sorry, Dorothy," Tom blushed.

"It's okay," she replied, also blushing. "Be sure to move before the next person goes! He throws you in the same spot!"

Califia and Tiger Lily went up next. Tiger Lily looked at Lion on the ground. "How are you going to get up here?"

"That's easy," he laughed. He then took a few steps back. He got a running start and used his Lion Laucher and flung himself onto the wing, shaking it up. "There. Now we have to get the passengers." They looked at the windows. The plane was definitely occupied. "Lemme talk to this person by the door."

"Hold it," Tiger Lily said, "Even though I know you're friendly, most people have never seen a talking lion before. It might scare them. I think I should be the one to inform them they're safe."

"Why should you?" Califia demanded, "Not to diminish your royal status, but I think that as a queen, I know how to speak to people and inform them of their security."

"If you feel so confident, Califia, you're more than welcome to tell them they're safe and we'll be getting them out of here."

"Gladly." Califia walked to the window. She banged on it. The man sitting by the window looked at her. "Listen! Get out of there!"

Tiger Lily facepalmed. She ran over and pushed Califia away. "What my friend here means," she corrected, "is that we're with S.T.E.A.M. and we've come to rescue you. There aren't any aliens around, so it's okay for you to get out of here."

"Er, Lily," Lion said, "I don't think I'd say there aren't any aliens around…" They looked at the ground. A swarm of Slasher aliens were crawling towards them.

Henry told his squadmates, "It seems Tiger Lily's group found a plane full of civilians. No word from Carter or his group."

"I'm sure they're fine," John said, "If they have The Fox with them, they're practically unstoppable."

"I sure hope you're right…" Henry commented. He turned to Stovepipe. "Do you see the Gunner?"

"Negative," the automaton answered, "Nothing to report."

"Well, we'll have to keep looking. The Liberty can't be attacked by nothing; something has to be attacking it for them to need our help."

"Maybe it hide underground like Great Shugguth," Queequeg suggested.

"If that were the case, it wouldn't be able to see the Liberty to attack it. It has to be above the ground." There was a rattling noise nearby. "Quiet!" Henry whispered, "What's that noise?"

Nearby, there was a Berserker going through the dumpster. "Trigger 'Enemy sighted' message," Stovepipe said. Henry shushed him.

"What it doing?" Queequeg asked. The Berserker pulled out a magazine. It opened up the pages and seemingly began reading it.

"I think it's trying to read," Henry said, "Maybe he's trying to study English."

"Kinda like those ones in the subway that all gathered around the billboard," John commented.

"Yeah. It's weird. I think they're trying to become smarter. Carter says that they're basically all brawn and no brains."

"So they're trying to make a change for themselves?" John asked, "Wow. These aliens seem a lot more civilized than I first thought. If only they weren't trying to claim our planet."

The Berserker's stomach growled. It began going through the garbage, looking for something to eat. It eventually settled on the dumpster itself. It crushed it into a wad of metal and ate it. "That's the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life," Henry commented. He began dripping sweat. The Berserker turned to face them. "Oh, damn!"

Meanwhile, Scarecrow was driving the baggage cart with the other three in the backseat. Randolph leaned towards Scarecrow. "I have to admit," he said, "I am impressed with this idea, as well as your ability to drive."

"Well, thank you, professor," Scarecrow replied, "That means a lot to me." Tin Man smiled, seeing his two of his best friends getting along so well at last.

Sitting back with The Fox and Tin Man, Randolph commented, "Well, this should reduce the amount of time we have to move by more than 95%. We should be by that Gunner in a matter of minutes."

"So," The Fox said, "I assume the plan is to have me shoot at its weak point until it falls over dead."

"Well," Tin Man said, "I think Randolph and I can also shoot at the hostile. The only way we win is with teamwork."

"Why do you get the privilege of calling him 'Randolph' while we must call him 'Professor Carter'?"

"We have reasons," Randolph vaguely explained, placing his arm on Tin Man's shoulder.

"Hey, guys," Scarecrow said, "we're almost there. Let's get focused."

"I see it," The Fox commented. She got out her Fox Rifle.

As they got closer, the Gunner spotted them. Its eyes glowed red and looked straight at them. The Fox, Randolph, and Tin Man readied their guns. But before they got within shooting range, the car stopped. Randolph commented, "Uh, Scarecrow? We need to be a bit closer. None of us can effectively hit it from this distance."

"Sorry, Professor," Scarecrow explained, "The cart's tank ran out of steam. Like our boilers, it should be refilled in a few minutes."

"Oh no!" Tin Man replied, "If it hits us, the impact will kill us. Or at least severely damage us."

"What can we do?" The Fox asked, losing her laid-back attitude.

Randolph looked at the others. He grabbed a sheet of paper and did some quick calculations. "Yes, it all seems to work out," he mumbled. The others turned to him. He pressed the Star button on his boiler. The chain for his special attack came out and he pulled it. "I'm not above using forbidden knowledge!" he yelled. He pressed his glasses to his face. A few mechanical tentacles came out of his boiler and generated electricity. They folded away, leaving an electric shield around the four of them. "Let us pray this is enough."

Back on the aeroplane, the teammates were getting swarmed by aliens crawling up to the wings. They were firing at them with all their might. "There's too many of them!" Dorothy yelled, "Even my Toto Blaster can't get all of them!"

"Neither can my Punch Gun," Tom replied, "They just keep coming back after I knock 'em back!" He shot at another one. "And my aim would be better, but I'm so hungry that my tummy's growlin' and distractin' me."

"Wait a minute…" Lion said, "Growling! That's it!"

"What are you doing?" Tiger Lily asked her feline friend. He pressed the Star button on his boiler. The chain for his special attack came out and he pulled it. He growled fiercely as his special steam-powered megaphone popped out from the back. He roared into it, damaging all the nearby aliens and stunning them, too. The ones that were killed by the noise fell off the wing.

"That should stop them for now." He turned to Tiger Lily. "It's okay to let them out now."

Tiger Lily went back to the window. "It's okay to come out, everyone. We got rid of the aliens and we'll escort you to a safe zone." The passenger opened the door and everyone started filing out of the plane.

The Berserker started walking over towards Henry and his team. "Get ready, guys!" the captain commanded. He cocked his rifle and the other four cocked their guns. "Now listen," Henry said to the alien, "We don't want any trouble. We just want to get rid of the Gunner and we'll be on our way. Please don't impede our progress." The Berserker growled loudly. "I'm not gonna tell you again. Get out of our way." The Berserker looked at Henry. "Go on, get lost." He motioned with his gun to get the alien to move. The alien looked at where Henry was pointing. "I think he understands me!" But instead of taking it as a cue to leave, the alien instead saw it as an invitation to attack Stovepipe. He opened his mouth at the robot. "Hey, watch out!" Henry pointed his gun at the alien. Upon biting down on Stovepipe, the Berserker swung his hand and knocked Henry's rifle away.

After being bitten, Stovepipe commented, "Repairs requested."

"Good thing I still have this…" Henry got out his Medi-Rifle and healed Stovepipe.

"Repairs appreciated." Stovepipe put on his Drill Fist and punched the Berserker. It responded by smacking Stovepipe out of the way.

"You bad diplomat," Queequeg told the alien. He shot at the alien's weak spot. The alien turned to his opponent and punched him in the stomach. "Maybe I should fire from farther away next time…" the Pacific prince reflected.

While Henry was trying to get his gun, John pointed his gun at the alien. "Hey, ugly!" he yelled at the alien, "I got a shotgun." The alien recognized the threat and decided to beat John to the punch. It grabbed John's right arm and crushed it, breaking his wrist. "Gyah!" he yelled in pain. He and his shotgun fell to the ground.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" the usually calm Henry panicked. He stumbled on the ground, trying to get his gun. Due to the adrenaline rushing through his system, he just couldn't grab it. The alien, not having adrenaline in its system, easily grabbed Henry by the throat. "Please don't eat me!" he begged.

John looked up and saw his best friend in trouble. He knew his broken wrist was now second priority. He stood up and got behind the Berserker. He formed his mechanical hand into a fist. "Leave…my friend…alone!" He pulled back his mechanical arm and punched the alien right through its weak point. It screamed in horrible agony, dropping Henry to the ground. John pulled his hand out of the alien. The alien fell on the ground and shattered to tiny pieces of ice.

Henry looked at the remnants of the alien and then at his best friend. "John…I think you just saved my life." He stood up and hugged John. "I can't thank you enough."

John looked at his metal hand, dripping with green alien blood. "I was able to defeat an incredibly strong alien without the use of my real arm," John thought, "It was all thanks to my fake one." He unclenched his fist and looked at his hand. He looked back and Henry. "Let's get Queequeg and Stovepipe to the Liberty. Maybe Randolph and them found the Gunner.

Randolph, Tin Man, The Fox, and Scarecrow sat in the baggage cart, protected by Randolph's Eldritch Shield. They all waited patiently for it to strike. When the Gunner realized that it had a sitting duck in front of it, it gathered all the energy it could muster at that moment to produce an ice block to fire. It shot it into the air at an angle that would definitely hit the four. When it fell down, it hit the shield, which still caused some damage to the four of them.

Randolph screamed like a girl and embraced Tin Man. "Oh," he said, "I'm dead, I'm dead, I've died, I'm dead…"

"Don't worry," Tin Man said, "The shield worked! It protected us from such a huge impact and only caused minute damage."

"Really? Well, that's good since I'd never tried out the shield against such a large foe." The shield then died down. "I think that means our boilers are ready to go once again." Randolph faced Scarecrow. "Scarecrow, forward!"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Scarecrow saluted Randolph. He began driving towards the beast. The three in the back pointed their weapons at its huge, glowing weak point. Randolph shot his Gatling Gun, Tin Man shot his Steam Rifle, and The Fox shot her Fox Rifle at the purple bulge. Each shot damaged the abomination more and more.

"One more shot and he shall be _muertos_ ," The Fox calculated. She looked at the weak spot through her rifle scope. She pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. " _¡Oh, maldito!_ " she yelled, "How could my steam get so low?"

"Let me give you a refill," Tin Man offered. He got out his Steam Projector. He tried to fire it at The Fox to give her some more steam, but nothing happened when he pulled the trigger. "What? I haven't the steam?"

Randolph inspected their boilers. "It seems you two used up most of your available allotment of steam," he observed, "there's a little left in both of your's, but not enough for your weapons."

"What does that mean?" Scarecrow asked.

"Well, to put it in unscientific terms, it means we're boned. I can't create another shield and when that thing shoots at us…that's it." He threw his gun down in defeat.

The Fox put her hand on her boiler's Star button. "No," she said, "even though that would refill my tank completely, I couldn't move and I'd have to rely on the alien to move into my crosshairs…It just wouldn't work."

Tin Man got an idea. "Maybe it would not work for you," he said, "but it might work for me." He pressed his boiler's Star button and pulled on the chain. "From my heart to your's!" he yelled. He bent over and steam blasted out of his tank to the other's, giving them each a few more steam units.

"What else do you have in your bag of tricks?" The Fox jokingly asked.

"How embarrassing," Randolph commented, "That steam bath's got me perspiring like crazy." He took off his vest. "Can you tell I'm sweating?"

"No," Scarecrow commented, "The dark circles under your armpits hide it very well." Randolph covered his sweat stains with both hands.

"I think I have enough steam to take out the hapless foe," The Fox said. She aimed at the weak spot and fired. The bullet embedded itself right into the purple growth. The Gunner could not take the pain anymore and expired.

"Fantastic!" Katherine said over the wireless, "You guys were amazing down there! We'll be landing the Liberty momentarily to pick you and the survivors up.

"You heard Katherine," Scarecrow said, "Let's get back to the airport." He tried to start up the baggage kart. "Oh, right…gonna need a moment for the steam tank to refill. I'm sure they won't leave without us."

Everyone stood around waiting for Randolph, Tin Man, The Fox, and Scarecrow. "What's taking them?" Henry asked.

"They must've gone pretty far," Tiger Lily commented, "None of us could seen the Gunner from here and they're the only ones who went in that direction."

"I hope they're okay," Dorothy worried.

"Don't worry," Tom said, "I'm sure they're all fine. They got the professor and The Fox, so they should be fine."

"Life forms approaching," Stovepipe commented.

"Aliens?" John asked.

"Uncertain," the automaton answered, "Movement is abnormally fast for human."

"Must be an alien," Califia declared. They all got out their guns and pointed it at the approaching target. The baggage cart drove towards them, carrying the missing four.

"Ahh!" Randolph screamed, "Please don't shoot!" He put his hands in the air for surrender.

"Oh, good," Lion commented, "It's just you guys." He picked up Scarecrow and Tin Man. "How are two of my best buddies?"

"We are fine," Tin Man said, "We defeated the Gunner, as you may have heard."

"I did hear." The feline looked at the cart. "Great idea using a vehicle to get to it. Must've saved you a lot of time. Whose idea was it?" Lion looked at Randolph.

Randolph commented, "I'm flattered that you expected it to be me, but I cannot take credit for this. It was Scarecrow's idea."

Lion looked at Scarecrow. "Really? You came up with such a great idea? I knew it, I knew you weren't as brainless as everyone says."

"Thank you," Scarecrow said.


	5. Epilogue

Once everyone was back on the Liberty, the survivors were taken to a special waiting room so they could be taken home. Due to his broken bone, John was taken to the medic station, along with Tiger Lily to oversee the procedure. Everyone else went to the rec room. Henry sat on one of the couches. Tin Man and Carter sat on the other, eating rice bowls, specially made by Tin Man himself.

"I hope John's okay," Henry worried.

"I am sure he is," Tin Man said, "It is strange to see you so troubled, Henry-san. You are normally so calm and collected."

"It's just that he saved my life. I want him to be okay."

"Relax, Fleming," Randolph said, "It's merely a broken bone. And it's in his arm. If it were in his torso, maybe you'd have something to worry about."

"It's not how badly he's hurt that bothers me. It's the fact he's hurt at all."

"Wow," Tin Man said, "You really care deeply about John-san. It is quite heartwarming."

"He means a lot to me. He and I go way back. We became friends during the Civil War, fighting for the Union. Then we got hired for the U.S. Embassy's security, and now we're working for S.T.E.A.M. After all that we've been through, I kinda want to be more than just friends with John. Kinda like how you two are together."

Randolph gagged on his bite of food. He got it choked down and started breathing heavily. Tin Man, once sure Randolph was okay, turned back to Henry. "What, uh, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean, you guys are nearly inseparable. I see you two together so much and I'd like to be the same way with John. It's why I put you two together when I assigned teams."

Randolph got a drink of water. "Well, thank you, Fleming," Randolph said, "I think we both really appreciate that."

"Hey guys!" Tom exclaimed, "John's back from the medic!" John walked in, his right arm in a sling. Everyone clapped for his return.

"Thank you," he said, "It's nothing serious. Tiger Lily and the other doctors say their treatment should have it fixed in less than a week." He took a seat next to Henry.

"John," Henry said, "I want to thank you again for saving my life back there."

"No thanks are necessary."

"No, I mean it. I seriously can't thank you enough. Even with a broken wrist, you still did what was right to save me. That's some stupendous courage right there."

"I don't know if it's courage; you're my best friend. It's what best friends do. I know you would've done the same in my shoes."

"That's something else I want to talk to you about," Henry sheepishly said, looking at his feet, "I don't know if I want to be just best friends with you anymore."

John put his mechanical hand on Henry's. "I think we've already moved past 'best friends' already." Henry looked at John. He smiled, closed his eyes, and put his head on John's chest.

"Aww, it is so adorable," Tin Man commented.

"I suppose that's true," Randolph replied, "And he does have a point about how similar they are and we are."

Scarecrow walked up to Randolph. "Hey, professor," he said, "Lion and I just finished our game of chess. Would you be interested in playing against me?"

"You're asking me to play chess with you?" Randolph asked. Scarecrow nodded. Randolph smiled, "I'd love to!" He stood up, still holding his bowl. "You don't mind if I eat while we play, do you?"

"Sure, you can eat. I'll just try not to knock it over when my horsie captures your munchkins."

"I doubt that will happen, as I plan to use my towers and build a stable to prevent your horsie from escaping." They began walking to the table for playing games.

"Well, don't tell me your brilliant strategies now! Then I'll have time to come up with a defense!"

Tin Man stood up. "Wait for me," he requested, "I am interested in seeing how this goes."

Katherine sat at her seat in the control room. She thought about President Lincoln. "Oh, Mr. Lincoln," she thought, "I really want to get back to looking for you." She thought about all the civilians they saved at the airport. "But I know you would want for us to save the people of the world before we save you. So even if we can't find you in the Arctic, I know I can find you in all the agents of S.T.E.A.M." She stood up. "Let's get these people home!" she commanded. The crew obeyed her command and started to fly the ship off.


End file.
